Creating a sustainable refinancing market in spain & beyond
Within the financial sector, there is often an understanding that operations such as refinancing are related to difficult financial situations such as large debts or payment problems. However, REFINE partner Creara is implementing their expertise in energy efficiency financing to change this.
Creara, the Spanish leader of the REFINE project, has become a national and international reference in the provision of high-value-added energy efficiency services and sustainability. In the field of H2020 projects, the organisation has developed an adept profile, leading and collaborating in numerous projects oriented to sustainability, energy efficiency financing, district heating, smart grids, etc.
REFINE is one of the latest contributions coming out from the H2020 projects, mainly focused on refinancing but with high potential to be further explored. Within the frame of this project, Creara has been able to collaborate on leading the analysis of the refinancing market in Spain, obtaining examples and conclusions of standardised contractual stipulations for refinancing contracts or developing a testing method for EE projects, among other tasks.
It has been identified in interviews conducted with key stakeholders and market research within the participating REFINE project countries, that ESCOs can benefit from a balance sheet clean-up and an increase in liquidity. As a result, this will enable them to undertake more projects and grow as companies. Standardisation of the procedures and contractual clauses necessary to carry out a refinancing operation can speed up and reduce the cost of such operations. This is very positive for the main beneficiaries of these schemes, the ESCOs. From the perspective of financial institutions, in addition to having an investment opportunity with interesting conditions, these types of operations are aligned with the EU Taxonomy and the advantages that come with its implementation.
In the current phase of the project, the next steps focus on finding pilot applications where the indicators developed in the project can be analysed and the developed testing method can be applied. It is expected that the efforts undertaken by Creara will contribute to the promotion of refinancing operations, by supporting the positive image that these types of operations can have in the financial sector for ESCOs and the wider European energy efficiency service market.